Journal of Lithic Studies
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Aporte del análisis de colecciones a las modalidades de aprovisionamiento: El caso de los sitios cantera-taller del Valle de Yocavil (Noroeste Argentino)
Get PDFContribution to the analysis of collection procurement mechanisms: The case of the quarry workshop sites of Yocavil Valley (Northwest Argentina)In this paper we propose to analyze and compare four collections of artifacts, which come from surface sites located south of the Calchaquíes Valleys. The quarry-workshop sites from Ampajango, El Bordo and Los Zazos have been previously studied and some of its parts are in the Museum of Natural Sciences of the National University of La Plata and in the Museum of Anthropology of the National University of Rosario, both in Argentina. These sites had been characterized as the first hunter-gatherer occupations in the valley of Yocavil (Cigliano 1964; 1968), mainly conformed by bifaces, scrapers and cores, most of them covered by a particular rock coating (rock varnish), which is desert varnish.In this paper we offer a revision and a new interpretation of such artifact assemblages. The questions that guide our work are: Will a new analysis of these collections allow us to observe complex processes such as reuse-recycling? What role did these spaces have at a regional level in sourcing decisions and exploitation of raw materials?By looking at the collections we have detected two problems. First, a greater presence of desert varnish on the parts collected during our fieldwork (Carbonelli 2013) in comparison with the ones in the above named collections. This variable is particularly relevant because a greater number of artifacts with varnish present are more likely to reveal cases of reuse-recycling; that is to say temporal difference between different sets of flaked stone. To solve this problem, we conducted a Chi2 analysis in order to test the null hypothesis of the absence of a difference between the proportions of artifacts with varnish from our collections and museum collections.Secondly, we detected an existing imbalance between the high frequency of knapping tools in detriment of debitage and cores in museum collections. In order to quantitatively address the diversity of each set, we compared the typological classes of each of the matching sets. Diversity is a way of measuring the variation since it describes attributes of a population composed of classes (attributes) that vary in frequency (wealth), which allows us to discuss structural issues of the sample. To explore the richness we use indicators that are not too sensitive to sample size, such as the Simpson Dominance Index and Eveness.From the methodological aspect, statistical analysis allowed us to recognize the biases that built the samples. The Chi2 tests indicate to us that there is a lower proportion of artifacts with desert varnish in the collections than what would fit reality. This manifests mainly in the absence of cases of reuse-recycling, evident in the differences of varnish between flaked artifacts. Moreover, the analysis of diversity warns us that there is an over-representation of finished tool type artifacts in collections, which makes difficult the description of the production sequence. Based on these biases, through techno-morphological analysis we characterized the lithic production of quarry-workshop sites. Generally speaking, they present an expeditious technology comprises of amorphous cores and partial bifaces, which were then used as cores.Even in the case of bifaces, there was no great effort put into their production, since many of them were still in the process of being knapped. The presence of an informal component in sets are also denoted by the presence of cortex in most knapped artifacts resulting in sequences of short reductions, without achieving a complete knapping of both sides.This low knapping of the sets is explained if we combine these observations with the results of our survey of potential and effective sources of raw materials (Carbonelli 2012, 2013b). The pieces of the collections come from places close to areas of good to fair quality raw materials, so expeditious technology with a small holding of bifaces and cores is consistent.En este trabajo nos proponemos analizar y comparar entre sí cuatro colecciones de artefactos, las cuales provienen de sitios de superficie situados al sur de los valles Calchaquíes. Los sitios cantera-taller de Ampajango, El Bordo y Los Zazos han sido estudiados con anterioridad y parte de sus piezas se encuentran en el Museo de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata y el Museo de Antropología de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario, ambos en la Argentina. En este trabajo ofrecemos una revisión y una nueva interpretación de dichos conjuntos artefactuales. Desde el aspecto metodológico, los análisis estadísticos nos permitieron reconocer los sesgos que construyeron dichas muestras. Los test nos indican que hay una menor proporción de artefactos con barniz del desierto en las colecciones de lo que se ajustaría a la realidad. Esto incide básicamente en la ausencia de casos de reclamación, evidentes en las diferencias de barniz entre lascados. Por otra parte los análisis de diversidad nos advierten que en las colecciones hay una sobre-representación de los artefactos formatizados, lo que dificulta la descripción de la secuencia de producción. Partiendo de dichos sesgos, mediante el análisis tecno-morfológico caracterizamos la producción lítica de los sitios cantera-taller. En términos generales, los mismos presentan una tecnología expeditiva compuesta por núcleos amorfos y bifaces parciales, que luego fueron utilizados como núcleos
Estudio de la inversión de energía aplicada en la manufactura de instrumentos líticos recuperados en la costa rionegrina del golfo San Matías (Argentina) a lo largo del Holoceno medio y tardío
Get PDFStudy of the energy investment applied in the manufacture of stone tools from San Matías Gulf coast (Río Negro, Argentina) during the Middle and Late HoloceneLithic technology is one of the many strategies that past human groups primarily utilised to extract and process resources for consumption. Different artefacts can be manufactured by investing different amounts of energy (while some of them require a great effort to be produced, others can be produced with very little investment of energy), depending on factors such as raw materials availability, the purpose for which the instruments are made, the temporal constraints, among others. This energy investment can be measured by different indicators. It is expected that in an environment where the spatial and temporal variability results in a heterogeneous distribution of resources, the sets of artefacts will show greater energy investment in order to be more efficient to exploit and process the necessary resources. The opposite would occur if energy is randomly distributed in the environment (Torrence 1983; Jeske 1992; Bousman 1993).The area of this study is the San Matías Gulf coast (Río Negro province, Argentina). Because of its geomorphological and structural differences, this coast has been divided into two distinct areas: the northern sector (between San Antonio Oeste city and El Cóndor), where there is a combination of accessibility to marine resources, of fresh water and an abundant availability of lithic raw materials and topographic shelters (Borella et al. 2007; Cardillo & Favier Dubois 2010); and the western portion (between Las Grutas city and the border with Chubut province), which is environmentally more homogeneous and with a lower variety of marine resources (Orensanz et al. 1973), and would have been used less intensively than the other portion of the gulf (Borella et al. 2007; Favier Dubois & Borella 2011). The dates of the northern sector go from ca. 6000 to 450 14C years BP (Favier Dubois et al. 2009a), while the dates of the western sector go from ca. 3000 to 900 14C years BP (Borella et al. 2015).In order to distinguish differential efforts put into the manufacture of lithic artefacts, this paper presents the results of the application of the concepts of "technical class" (Aschero & Hocsman 2004) and "utilitarian design" to the lithic assemblages recovered in the study area. The first concept considers overlapping flake scars that may fully or partially cover the surface of one or both sides of the instrument, intersecting or not at the tool’s middle axis (Aschero & Hocsman 2004). Categories within the technical class are not separated compartments but, according to Hocsman & Escola (2007: 76), there is a continuum in the morphology of artefacts ranging from those that can be produced with little effort, to those for which manufacture involves a greater effort. This approach is complemented by the study of utilitarian designs of instruments. This methodology was used in order to distinguish differential efforts in the manufacture of various artefact types found in the archaeological assemblages analysed, and to discern trends in the use of the different rock types found in the archaeological record. All of the analyses were performed according to the criteria established in Aschero (1975; 1983), whereas the identification of raw materials was made according to Alberti & Fernandez (2015). Finally Chi2 test were run in order to determine whether the detected intra- and inter-coastal differences are statistically significant or not.For the northern coast of the gulf, the results indicate a general low energy investment, which goes along with the exploitation of marine resources during the earliest occupation periods. This is supported by the high percentages of blanks obtained using indirect percussion, by the absence of requirements of blank manufacture and by the absence of an imposition of requirements of form. Towards the later periods of occupation, the results indicate an increase in energy investment as part of an increased risk and diet diversification, since there is a rise in the manufacture of instruments by bifacial thinning. This could possibly be related to the emergence of new technologies such as projectile points needed to capture terrestrial resources. On the west coast of the gulf, however, the energy invested in the manufacture of artefacts would have remained constant over time, with the predomination of low energy investment throughout the occupation.Through the study of energy investment indicators, it could be established that a change in the energy investment put into the manufacture of instruments would only have taken place in the northern coast of the San Matías Gulf. This is related to a diet diversification that has been proposed for the area (Favier Dubois et al. 2009a). However, within this overall low energy investment for early periods of the occupation, there would have been a slightly higher investment on the west coast. A plausible explanation for this is the form in which raw materials appear in the environment and their quality for flaking activities. On the northern coast these sources are abundant and ubiquitous and of regular to good quality, while those on the western coast are located in specific places and their quality is better (Alberti 2015: 239-247). So, it is thought that due to higher efforts of rock provisioning on the west coast, technology would have tended to be conservative (sensu Nelson 1991), with more energy invested in the manufacture of instruments in order to extend their use-life. On the northern coast, however, the greater availability of rocks would have led to a rapid disposal of the artefacts, which would have been manufactured with low energy investment.For later periods of the gulf’s occupation, an increase in energy investment was registered only for the northern coast. Therefore, the incorporation of land resources to the diet involved changes only in this region. It is possible that on the west coast the energy invested in artefact manufacture since the earliest times in relation to the availability of raw materials in the environment would have been enough for the extraction, processing and consumption of the new resources added to the diet in later times.This study establishes yet another indicator that reinforces the idea of a more dynamic and changing occupation of the northern coast of the San Matías Gulf, according to a heterogeneous distribution of food resources, and a more homogeneous use of space on the western coast, concordant with a reduced variety of resources in the environment.La tecnología lítica es una de las estrategias que los grupos humanos del pasado pusieron en juego para, principalmente, extraer recursos del medio y procesarlos para el consumo. En este marco, diferentes artefactos pueden ser manufacturados invirtiendo distintas cantidades de energía (mientras que algunos requieren de un gran esfuerzo de producción, otros, en cambio, pueden ser producidos con muy poca inversión de energía), dependiendo de factores tales como la disponibilidad de materias primas, el fin para el cual se manufactura el instrumento, los constreñimientos temporales, entre otros. Esta inversión energética puede medirse a través de diferentes indicadores. Así, es esperable que en ambientes donde la variabilidad espacial y temporal da como resultado una distribución heterogénea de los recursos, los conjuntos de artefactos mostrarán mayor inversión de energía para ser más eficientes al momento de la explotación y procesamiento de recursos. El caso contrario se daría si la energía se ncuentra distribuida de forma homogénea en el ambiente (Torrence 1983; Jeske 1992; Bousman 1993). El área de estudio de este trabajo comprende la costa del golfo San Matías (provincia de Río Negro, Argentina). Debido a las diferencias geomorfológicas y estructurales que la caracterizan, la costa rionegrina del golfo ha sido dividida en dos sectores distinguibles entre sí: el sector norte (entre San Antonio Oeste y el balneario El Cóndor), donde se combinan la accesibilidad a especies marinas, el agua dulce y la abundante disponibilidad de materias primas líticas y de reparos topográficos (Borella et al. 2007; Cardillo & Favier Dubois 2010); y el sector oeste (entre Las Grutas y el límite con Chubut), ambientalmente más homogéneo y con una diversidad de especies marinas menor (Orensanz et al. 1973), utilizado de forma menos redundante o intensiva que la otra porción del golfo (Borella et al. 2007; Favier Dubois & Borella 2011). Los fechados del sector norte se ubican entre los ca. 6000 y los 450 años 14C AP (Favier Dubois et al. 2009a), mientras que los del sector oeste entre los 3000 y los 900 años 14C AP (Borella et al. 2015).Con el fin de distinguir esfuerzos diferenciales de manufactura, en este trabajo se presentan los resultados de la aplicación de los conceptos de “clase técnica” (Aschero & Hocsman 2004) y “diseño utilitario” a los conjuntos líticos recuperados en el área de estudio. El primer concepto considera la superposición de los lascados que pueden cubrir total o parcialmente la superficie de una o de las dos caras, entrecruzándose o no en el eje medio del instrumento (Aschero & Hocsman 2004). Las categorías determinadas dentro de la clase técnica no son compartimentos estancos sino que, de acuerdo con Hocsman & Escola (2007: 76), existe un continuum en la morfología de los artefactos que va desde los que pueden ser producidos con muy poco esfuerzo tecnológico, hasta los que implican un mayor esfuerzo de producción. Esto se complementa con el estudio de los diseños utilitarios de los instrumentos. Mediante esta metodología se buscó distinguir esfuerzos diferenciales en la manufactura de las diversas clases artefactuales encontradas en los conjuntos analizados, y discernir tendencias respecto de la explotación de los diferentes tipos de rocas encontrados en el registro. Todos los análisis se realizaron siguiendo los criterios establecidos en Aschero (1975; 1983), mientras que para la identificación de las materias primas se estableció según Alberti & Fernández (2015). Finalmente se hicieron análisis de Chi2 con el fin de determinar si las diferencias detectadas intra e intercosta en los diferentes bloques temporales resultaban ser estadísticamente significativas. Para la costa norte del golfo, los resultados indican, en general, una baja inversión de energía en los momentos tempranos de la ocupación, acorde con la explotación de recursos marinos. Esto se apoya en los altos porcentajes de formas base para cuya obtención no habría sido necesario el uso de la percusión dirigida, en la mayoría de ausencia de requerimientos de formatización de la forma base, y en la ausencia de requerimientos de imposición de forma. Para momentos tardíos los resultados indican un aumento de esta inversión, en el marco de un aumento del riesgo y la diversificación de la dieta, ya que la manufactura de piezas mediante la técnica del adelgazamiento bifacial es mayor respecto a momentos tempranos. Esto se debería, posiblemente, a la aparición de nuevas tecnologías, como las puntas de proyectil, necesarias para la captura de alimentos terrestres.Para la costa oeste del golfo, en cambio, la energía invertida en la manufactura de instrumentos se habría mantenido constante a lo largo del tiempo, predominando la baja inversión energética a lo largo de toda la ocupación. Así, a través de la aplicación de los indicadores de inversión de energía, se pudo determinar que únicamente en la costa norte del golfo San Matías se habría dado un cambio en la inversión energética puesta en la manufactura de instrumentos a lo largo del tiempo, lo cual podría estar relacionado con la diversificación en la dieta propuesta para el área (Favier Dubois et al. 2009a). Sin embargo, dentro de esta baja inversión general, para momentos tempranos de la ocupación se habría dado una inversión energética ligeramente mayor en la costa oeste. Una explicación plausible para esto es la presentación de las materias primas y la calidad de las mismas para la talla: fuentes de rocas abundantes y ubicuas en el ambiente y de calidad regular a buena en la costa norte, y ubicadas en lugares puntuales del espacio y con rocas de mejor calidad en la costa oeste (Alberti 2015: 239-247). Así, podría pensarse que, debido a esfuerzos de aprovisionamiento más altos en la costa oeste, la tecnología tendería a ser de tipo conservada (sensu Nelson 1991), invirtiendo mayor energía en la manufactura de instrumentos con el fin de prolongar su vida útil. En la costa norte, en cambio, la amplia disponibilidad de rocas habría llevado al rápido descarte de los artefactos, en los que no se habría invertido gran energía. Para momentos tardíos de la ocupación en el golfo, se registró un aumento en la inversión de energía únicamente en la costa norte, con lo que la incorporación de recursos terrestres a la dieta ocasionó variaciones solamente en esta región. Podría pensarse que para la costa oeste la energía invertida desde momentos tempranos y la tecnología conservada que se habría manejado en relación con el consumo de recursos y la presentación y disponibilidad de materias primas en el ambiente, habría sido suficiente para el aprovisionamiento, procesamiento y consumo de los nuevos recursos incorporados a la dieta en momentos tardíos. A partir de este trabajo se pudo establecer un indicador más que reforzaría la idea de una ocupación más dinámica y cambiante en la costa norte, acorde con una distribución heterogénea de recursos alimenticios, y de un aprovechamiento más homogéneo del espacio en la costa oeste, concordante con una diversidad de recursos meno
Shirataki obsidian exploitation and circulation in prehistoric northern Japan
Get PDFPresently, the total number of archaeological obsidian sources in Japan is more than 80, and among them, 21 are in Hokkaido, northern part of the Japanese archipelago (Izuho and Sato 2007). Obsidian was the dominant of lithic raw material in the Upper Paleolithic Hokkaido (35-10 ka cal BP). Out of 21 archaeological obsidian sources in Hokkaido, 4 sources: Shirataki, Oketo, Tokachi, and Akaigawa are the major obsidian sources and the others are minor sources. Shirataki is one of the largest obsidian sources in Northeast Asia and it is well known that Shirataki obsidian was transported outside Hokkaido to Sakhalin and the Paleo-Honshu Island from the Late Upper Paleolithic period.We compiled data of obsidian source analyses conducted to artefacts from Paleolithic sites in Hokkaido, and it became clear that the ratio of Shirataki obsidian in all analyzed materials is more than half (Sato and Yakushige in press).We examined how far Shirataki obsidian was transported in each period: the Early Upper Paleolithic (35-25 ka cal BP) and the Late Upper Paleolithic (25-10 ka cal BP). The Late Upper Paleolithic is divided into three stage, the early Early Microblade Industry (Stage 1: 25-21 ka cal BP), the late Early Microblade Industry (Stage 2: 19-16 ka cal BP), and the Late Microblade Industry (Stage 3: 16-10 ka cal BP). As a result, it is revealed that the distribution areas of Shirataki obsidian did not expand gradually over time, but are different in different lithic industries. In the background of this situation lay the difference of ecological adaptation strategies adopted by the prehistoric people of the time and their movement behavioral strategies
Producing adornment: Evidence of different levels of expertise in the production of obsidian items of adornment at two late Neolithic communities in northern Mesopotamia
Get PDFIn the Near East obsidian is of particular interest to archaeologists because it is an exotic material and best known for is use in tool manufacture, but it is also occasionally used to make items of personal adornment. Some of these items are very highly finished, while others appear much more rudimentary though it is by no means obvious why this should be. Here we will review such artefacts at two contemporary late Neolithic communities, Domuztepe in SE Anatolia and Tell Arpachiyah in northern Iraq. Both have seemingly unusually high numbers of such objects as well as evidence for obsidian tool production on site. At Domuztepe some objects are highly finished while others appear much more ad hoc. At Arpachiyah on the other hand, the objects appear very similar to each other so as to seem standardised or at least the product of a single workshop. Our main aim in this paper is to try to unravel the evidence needed to determine whether they were produced on site, or whether they were acquired as finished objects (or both)
Six Month Download and View Report (Vol 1, Nr. 1)
No full textThe following report summarises the number of views and downloads of each of the articles in Volume 1, Number 1 of the Journal of Lithic Studies for the first six months after publication of this issue
Knappable lithic resources of North-Western Romania: A mineralogical study
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to identify and characterise some of the raw materials in NW Romania which have been suggested as having been used for knapping tools. The materials cropping out in this area include jasper, chalcedony, and perlite. The basic characteristics of the materials, obtained by macroscopic, microscopic, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) investigations provide a reference database useful in provenance studies on individual artefacts or whole assemblages. An assessment of each material is made regarding its quality as a knappable material
The Mousterian lithic assemblage of the Ciota Ciara cave (Piedmont, Northern Italy): Exploitation and conditioning of raw materials
Get PDFThe Ciota Ciara cave is situated in Monte Fenera’s karst (Borgosesia – Vercelli), at 670 metres above sea level. It is the most important evidence of a Middle Palaeolithic settlement in Piedmont: the cave was used by Homo neanderthalensis during the OIS 5, in a mild-humid period, as proven by faunal remains. The environment was characterized by deciduous woodland and glades. The intersection between different habitats, the presence of lithic raw materials, the karst morphology and water sources were certainly the main factors that encouraged human settlement during the Upper Pleistocene period, between 80.000 and 70.000 BP.In 2009 systematic excavations began in the cave by the University of Ferrara, in partnership with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Piemonte e del Museo di Antichità Egizie. Research focused on the cave’s atrium where three stratigraphic units were investigated: 13, 103 and 14.The exploited raw materials’ characterization were made by the stereo-microscope observations and through the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). Several lithologies are represented in different proportion: quartz is the predominant exploited raw material, followed by spongolite, sandstone, mylonite and opal. The archaeological record consists of various typologies of quartz: macro-crystalline pegmatite quartz, micro-crystalline pegmatite quartz and hyaline quartz. All these types of raw materials have been found in the proximity of the archaeological site, within 5 km range.The lithic assemblage is made of flakes, retouched tools, cores and debris. The raw materials exploitation was achieved through the direct percussion technique with various methods: S.S.D.A., discoid and Levallois. The reduction sequences on quartz are complete, although no refitting was found. The reduction sequence is not complete for most part of the other raw materials. The débitage products are small-medium size (1-4 cm) and have different morphologies.The use-wear analysis on quartz’s artefacts was carried out using the low power approach. The preservation state of the lithic assemblage is very good and no chemical, mechanical or post-depositional alterations are evident. The use-wear analysis shows a predominance of medium-hard and medium-soft materials processing.The lithic industries characteristics show the production strategies adaptation typical of the Middle Palaeolithic to the characteristics of the non-sedimentary raw materials
Intra-raw material variability and use-wear accrual: A continuing exploration
Get PDFThis paper presents the latest results of an ongoing research initiative into the role of lithic raw material variability in use-wear formation. The present study continues recent exploration of wear formation associated with working dry hide. The work presented here expands on a recently published study of two raw materials from the American Southwest [San Juan Fossiliferous Chert (SJF) and Yellow Silicified Wood (YSW)] (Lerner, In Press) by presenting the analysis of two additional materials [Morrison Undifferentiated Gray Chert (MUG) and Brushy Basin Silicified Siltstone (BB)] using the same quantitative measures from the previous study (area percent, density, average intensity.) The methods used have broad geographic and temporal applicability, thus the potential for contributing to greater standardization in the quantification of archaeological use-wear.
Identifying the signs: The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in northern Iberia from the perspective of the lithic record
Get PDFThe lithic record, together with archaeozoological remains, makes up the most abundant assemblages at European Palaeolithic sites. During many decades in the twentieth century, the classical typological analysis (the Bordesian paradigm) has been used to articulate the sequencing of the different cultural and chronostratigraphic units. At the same time, since the 1960s an alternative methodology known as Analytical Typology, proposed by Georges Laplace, has been available. The sophistication of the statistical procedures used by Analytical Typology is the reason given by many prehistorians for avoiding this approach, in the same way that the limitations in the quantification of the results ended up discrediting Bordes and Sonneville-Bordes’ method. As a first paradox, the same reasoning (in the opposite direction) rules out both methodologies. In addition, by ignoring the typological approach, we give new life to technological analysis, where qualitative information is provisionally prioritised over quantitative data. If we aim to describe the process of transition or change, then, as we have said on various occasions, the reading of the lithic record should be holistic, and cover typometrical features, the raw materials, technology, function and certainly typological traits. The alleged difficulties about the description of the different variables, their quantification and statistical analysis have been solved for some time in Laplace’s methodological proposal. Ignorance of this methodology cannot be given as an excuse, fifty years after it was first formulated.
New data about Cenomanian and Turonian chert from the Charente basin (France)
Get PDFPrehistoric studies in lithic raw materials have experienced some methodological innovations that have resulted in research breakthroughs. The transfer of methods from Geology to Archaeology has led to the development of a new discipline, Petroarcheology, which has allowed to go beyond the study of chert as a raw material, providing archaeological responses from Petrography’s own methods.Why did we choose the Charente’s basin samples?The history of research goes back to early 2000, with works like the PCR led by Anne Delagnes “Paléolithique Moyen dans le bassin de la Charente” and the doctoral thesis of Seon-Jing Park (2007), in relation to the question of Neanderthal human mobility and potential mineral resources of that basin. These works led to the initiation of different geoarchaeological surveys in search of quality siliceous raw materials for the manufacture of stone tools, whose positive results led, in 2002, to the creation of the regional lithothèque of Charente (Angoulême, France).This lithothèque, located at the Museum of Fine Arts in Angoulême and with a collection of 183 samples of siliceous rocks - chert, jasper (Riba, 1997) and claystones (Riba, 1997)-, has become over the years an essential and very important tool for scholars interested in siliceous raw material availability and procurement in that region.Our study has combined petrologic and micropalaeontological (both macroscopic and microscopic) analysis of all samples recovered from two of the four geological stages of the Upper Cretaceous represented in the lithothèque - Cenomanian and Turonian.We’ve described some different kind of chert and we’ve made location maps with the aim, in the future, of compare and relate to archaeological studies on the origin of lithic industries recovered in the archaeological deposits of the area